Central America
Bernardo Arévalo called Attorney General Consuelo Porras to a meeting
The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, called a meeting next Wednesday with Attorney General Consuelo Porras, whom he accuses of leading an attempted “coup d’état” and who is expected to ask her to resign, as previously announced.
The government issued a statement this Friday reporting that the president, who took office at the beginning of the week, sent a formal invitation to Porras for a meeting in the presidential office, without specifying whether the request included his resignation.
The appointment is scheduled for January 24 at 10:00 a.m. local time (16:00 GMT) at the National Palace in the capital, according to the statement.
The social democratic president, 65, had previously announced that he would summon Porras this week to ask him to resign. Under the law, the president does not have the power to dismiss the attorney general.
“We will summon her to the office to ask her to resign. I have said it publicly and I reiterate it: at that appointment I will ask her to resign and I hope she has the good sense to hand it in,” Arévalo said in an interview with CNN in Spanish last Wednesday.
Porras, 70 years old and considered “corrupt” and “undemocratic” by the United States, is accused by Arévalo, protesters and the international community of undermining democracy and endangering the presidential transition due to questioned investigations.
The Prosecutor’s Office led by Porras initiated legal action against Arévalo after he surprisingly advanced to the runoff in June.
In addition, he managed to get a judge to suspend Arévalo’s party, Semilla, for alleged irregularities in its formation in 2017.
The Prosecutor’s Office also maintains that last year’s elections are “null” due to alleged irregularities in the minutes containing the votes.
Central America
Guatemala’s President to Hold Private Interviews for Attorney General Candidates
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León announced that he will privately interview the six candidates for attorney general this week, breaking with the public format used by former President Alejandro Giammattei.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Arévalo said the interviews would not be open to the public because he intends to question candidates about their plans to recover the Attorney General’s Office from what he described as “political-criminal networks.”
Under Guatemalan law, the president is responsible for appointing the country’s attorney general.
The position has been held since 2018 by Consuelo Porras, whose term is set to expire on May 16 after two consecutive terms marked by local and international allegations of corruption.
Arévalo is expected to select the new attorney general later this week from a shortlist recently submitted by a nomination commission.
The Guatemalan president has repeatedly criticized the Public Prosecutor’s Office, claiming it has been compromised by corrupt political interests.
Central America
Guatemala Court Voids List of Candidates for Top Prosecutor Position
Constitutional Court of Guatemala on Thursday annulled the shortlist of six candidates for attorney general and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ordering authorities to repeat the evaluation phase of the selection process.
The ruling came in response to a legal appeal filed by Raúl Amílcar Falla Ovalle, who challenged the way professional experience had been assessed for some applicants, particularly those with careers in the judiciary.
As a result of the decision, the selection process has been suspended, and the Postulation Commission must return to the stage in which the original 48 applicants were evaluated.
According to the ruling, the commission must reapply the grading criteria without automatically counting years served as judges as equivalent to the professional experience required for the position.
“The Postulation Commission for the election of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is ordered to reassess the applicants by strictly applying the approved grading table,” the resolution states.
The Constitutional Court also stressed that the process must guarantee merit, competence, and suitability, while ensuring greater transparency in the assignment of scores.
Central America
U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme
The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.
Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.
The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.
According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.
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